Pantoja’s AEW Dynamite Review 3.1.23

AEW Dynamite

March 1^st, 2023 | Cow Palace in San Francisco, California

It’s been a few weeks since I reviewed an AEW Dynamite but with it being the go-home show before Revolution and me having some time to do it, I’m jumping right in.

AEW All-Atlantic Championship: Orange Cassidy [c] (7-0 in 2023) vs. Big Bill (1-0 in 2023)

Not exactly the most exciting start to the show but let’s see if there’s actualla y major improvement from Big Bill as I’ve heard some people spout. This started with some stalling tactics and goofy antics where Cassidy interacted with Stokely. It’s Dynamite and they had to hit the the one-table-per-week quota with Bill choke-slamming OC through one outside. That took us to break and during it, Danhausen arrived to be at OC’s side. Bill wore him down with a Full Nelson but his big boot whiffed because Cassidy just fell to the floor. Bill saved Stokely from a curse and Stokely laid out Danhausen with his cast. Cassidy escaped some more chokeslam attempts and started reeling off a flurry of offense capped by the Orange Punch and one off the top to win in 12:26. That was a good power vs. speed match. [***]

We heard from Jon Moxley following last week’s bloody main event. He spoke about Hangman, said he lives for his kind of violent,ce, and that while Hangman is a great wrestler, he’s not the same animal as Mox. Hangman got praise for beating him after his concussion but when Moxley did that to Hangman, they called it a fluke. The visual of this promo with the blood falling to the floor was wild.

The Elite came out but the lights quickly went out and the House of Black was behind them for an attack. They posed with the titles before the lights went back out. Simple segment.

Face of the Revolution Ladder Match: Action Andretti vs. AR Fox vs. Eddie Kingston vs. Kommander vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Ortiz vs. Sammy Guevara

This was typically saved for the PPV but that Ironman match probably means it had to be cut. Samoa Joe had a ringside seat as the winner gets a shot at his title. Kingston and Ortiz fought to the back almost immediately due to their personal beef. It’s funny to see Sammy in her because his biggest attraction is his aerial skills but he’s far behind the likes of Fox, Andretti, and Kommander and it showed here. For example, Kommander’s spot where he walked across the top rope and into a dive was one of the wildest things I’ve ever seen. Andretti and Sammy nearly both died on a ladder Falcon Arrow spot which was immediately followed by more madness from Kommander. Takeshita’s Blue Thunder Bomb off a ladder was another in a long line of absurd spots in this match. Hobbs ended up being the guy to pull down the ring gimmick in his hometown after 13:43. The shot of the refs holding the ladder for Hobbs was so amateurish. Just use a bigger ladder or hang the thing lower. Anyway, your mileage will vary here but I love a good spotfest and this was ridiculous. [****]

I do question the booking here. I like Hobbs anhisim winning in his hometown is cool but we’ve already done Hobbs/Joe/Wardlow. Hobbs went to confront Joe but Wardlow showed up instead. Hobbs watched as Joe bailed and Wardlow destroyed guards.

Backstage, Best Friends were interviewed as Trent and Chuck were “not cleared” to compete. Danhausen said he and OC are taking their spots.

Chris Jericho (23-6-1 on Dynamite) vs. Peter Avalon

This was the expected squash outside of Avalon getting in some fiery shots early on. Jericho won with the Codebreaker in 2:27. [NR]

Jericho jumped Avalon after the bell until Ricky Starks ran him off. The JAS arrived and beat him up because this whole storyline is just the same thing over and over. How dumb has this been too? Ricky beat Jericho, then had to win a gauntlet to *checks notes* get another match with Jericho for no reason. Jericho feuds just kill momentum.

We now heard from Hangman Page at what appeared to be a barn about how he’s going to take everything from Moxley.

Renee Paquette brought out Christian Cage for an in-ring promo. He talked about Jungle Boy saying he’d win a singles title. Christian: Over my dead body. He’ll win one before him and he dissed JB for treating the business like a video game. Christian treats it like an ATM. He wants a fight with JB at Revolution Christian ran down Luke Perry for being a no-talent hack  before the lights went out. AEW loves that gimmick eh? We got a video of JB digging Christian’s grave. Great promo from Christian here.

Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter had a short interview to say that Hayter will retain on Sunday.

FTW Championship: Hook [c] (20-0 in 2023) vs. Matt Hardy (0-0 in 2023)

If Hook wins, he apparently gets Stokely next week. This was kind of a mess because Matt isn’t moving well at all these days. The Firm got involved at ringside a bit to give Matt the upper hand for a bit. Hook got going and Matt tapped instantly to Redrum after 4:33. [*]

The House of Black cut a promo in the back and they’ve stolen the Trios Titles. Ugh, I hate that gimmick. Alas, they put the titles down and said that The Elite have already lost.

Riho (0—0 in 2023) vs. Toni Storm

This was hyped as a battle of two former Women’s Champions. Toni jumped Riho before the bell because Gedo must’ve booked this. Riho did some fiery babyface comeback stuff before Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter walked out for a closer look. That took us to commercial break and upon return, Riho hit a big crossbody to the outside. This picked up in the back half with some close calls as Riho continues to be a very good but inconsistently booked underdog babyface. My feed cut as Toni ate a cheap shot from Britt that set up a messy Riho rollup finish in 10:04. That was okay. [**½]

As Britt and Toni went at it, Saraya brawled with Hayter before Ruby Soho showed up for a pull-apart brawl.

Keith “Mordecai” Lee and Dustin Rhodes cut a promo challenging Swerve to a tag match on Friday.

Casino Tag Team Battle Royal

Winners get the final spot in the PPV Title match. The Dark Order was out first but got jumped by the new “heel-like” Blackpool Combat Club. They went to break and upon return, Vance and Rush joined the fray. Lucha Bros and Aussie Open came in next and those are two of the best teams in the world. 2.0 was next and Top Flight is another great choice for a winner, especially given how much of a push they’ve had. I always forget the Kingdom is around. Nese and Daivari interfered and took out the Lucha Brothers. So that’s really the best Tony Khan can come up with for Penta and Fenix? Danhausen and the battered Orange Cassidy were next before we got the arrival of Butcher and Blade. Commentary hyped them as the “most dangerous team in battle royals” as if that’s a thing. Anyway, it came down to them against the Best Friends duo. OC was on the verge of elimination until Danhausen snuck in and threw them both over though they mistimed it. That went 18:56 and was kind of a mess. Also, I love Danhausen but for a company that hypes the tag division, the thrown-together team, and Lethal and Jarrett being on the PPV is a choice. [**]

Lethal and Jarrett jumped the winners as the Gunns looked on. The Acclaimed made the save and cleared the ring.

With time winding down, Bryan Danielson came out to address the fans. He was quickly cut off by the arrival of MJF only for Bryan to shout for him to shut up. Bryan went off on a tangent about the reasons why MJF hates him, that he had to fight for everything, and that the only thing Max deserves is his fiancé leaving him. Bryan told him to fight for it this Sunday or he’ll get his fucking head kicked in. The audio edit of that was awful but Bryan was on fire here.

6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

One of the worst Dynamites in a while but still something that good stuff going for it. The ladder match was a fun mess, the Bryan promo was great, and the opener was solid. The booking decisions, women’s stuff, and the JAS stuff were all misses though.